Curiosity Killed the Cat
by Ahoips
Summary: Arthur Kirkland is Alfred F. Jones' faithful cat with a dark, human past. One day his past catches up with him and Alfred and Arthur must travel half-way across the world to save Arthur from evil forces trying to kill him. USUK  obviously.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm sorry this isn't Alter…I'm just really bad at updating things D: Unlike Alter, I started working on this awhile ago and I already have chapters written. So…yeah. Anyway, this isn't bestiality. I'll prove it in like the third chapter. Arthur will be human again. Woops, spoiler alert. This was supposed to be a one-shot. This is obviously NOT a one-shot anymore. It is officially going to be a multi-chaptered fic. Probably exceptionally long as well. I've always wanted to right an Actiony/Supernatural/Sci-Fi/Indiana Jones-esque piece, but I never got around to it. Well now I have! On with the show! _

_PS: Sorry in Advance for the shortness. It's just a prologue. Kinda.  
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Alfred F. Jones was in most respects a normal 21 year old. He lived alone in his small one bedroom apartment, save for the occasional overnight stay from his twin brother. His social life was normal and involved a few close friends and the odd date or two. The relationships never stuck, but that was probably due to how uninterested in woman he was. He'd known he was gay for a long time, but he'd never told anyone. He was fine with being set up on blind dates with woman, even if it was a fruitless effort.

His job was normal enough. He co-owned a small bookstore with his brother Matthew, and it brought in enough money to keep him living comfortably. His looks were maybe above average with his slightly messy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and toned body, though it might be his rather dorky personality that took away from his looks. Perhaps the only unusual aspect of his life was his cat.

Named Arthur, or Artie for short, the sandy blond tabby was an interesting cat. His fur was short and messy, but unbelievably soft. Sometimes Alfred would sit for hours, stroking the ball of fur laying on top of his stomach. Though even with his soft fur, the most beautiful part about Arthur had to be his eyes. They almost looked magical with their vivid green color and their ability to almost glow. The strange thing about his eyes was the shape. They looked almost human, missing the characteristic slit in the middle, instead replaced with a circular pupil. It gave Arthur the uncanny ability to express his own feelings with just his eyes.

The cat had been found by Alfred only a year before, but Alfred already had a very strong relationship with the tabby. Alfred talked to Arthur about anything and everything. And sometimes he swore his cat responded. Whether it be a nod in agreement at something Alfred said, or a small lick of his master's palm to comfort him when he was upset.

Alfred took Arthur everywhere with him, either hiding him in his tattered red bookbag or carrying him under his signature bomber jacket. His brother had expressed his displeasure at having the cat in the bookstore, but Alfred had assured him that the cat would do no harm. And slowly, but surely Matthew came to enjoy the presence of the cat. Often he would take him out on his own when his brother wasn't around. This new friendship between Arthur and Matthew allowed Alfred to be able to bring his cat to the bookstore everyday. Which he just so happened to be getting ready to do that very morning.

* * *

"Aaaaaarrttttiiieeeee" Alfred searched frantically through his room, throwing clothes around and kicking the trash scattered about his floor. "Where are ya buddy? I gotta go to work and if I'm late one more time Mattie's not gonna let me bring you anymore!"

He threw a few more articles of clothing around until he saw his jacket on the floor with a big bulge underneath it. He smiled triumphantly and crept closer and closer to the jacket until he was right in front of it.

He crouched down in front of the bulge and smirked. "Oh Arthuuuur." He saw a small movement from under the jacket and it took him about 3 seconds to pounce on the object.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed as he quickly got off of Arthur and lifted him in to the air.

Looking at Alfred in defeat Arthur made an annoyed growl and squirmed trying to get out of his grasp.

"Jeez Artie calm down." He looked down at the cat in his arms and tried his best to make a serious look. "Had me worried there thinking I had lost you."

Arthur simply stared up at him with an annoyed look, almost rolling his eyes. To anyone else this would have been a surprising if not scary action, but Alfred, being used to such feats, just glared at the cat in mock anger and ruffled his fur lightly.

"No need to get angry, I'm just messin' with ya. Sheesh." Arthur ignored Alfred for the time being, and instead squirmed again frantically in response while lifting his paw up to face the door.

Alfred stared in confusion before he paled slightly and started to run, quickly picking up his bookbag and jacket on his way out.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Thanks for distracting me Artie! Mattie's gonna kill me!" Arthur growled back at him, almost as If to say "Like hell this is my fault!" But his growl was ignored as he was stuffed under Alfred's jacket.

This had become a daily occurrence as well. A small fight would arise between both males (most likely about running late) and it would always end the same. Alfred would curse as he hurried to work, and Arthur would protest at being roughly handled. This would go on as Alfred ran through the town until making it to the doors of the bookstore right on time. 'Old habits die hard' as they say.

Today Alfred was not so lucky though as he through the store's doors almost fifteen minutes late. As soon as he made it inside he doubled over and started panting, forgetting completely about Arthur. He was reminded of his presence shortly afterwards by frantic struggling and a bite to his stomach.

"Ahh! Arthur I forgot about you! " He lifted him out from under his jacket quickly and set him down on the counter. Scanning the room he snuck around the corner to get to the back storage room.

Just as he was about to make his escape to a day of work in the back he heard a quiet voice behind him.

"15 minutes late Al. Are you trying to get fired?"

Oh shit. Meet Matthew Williams. Alfred's 'sweet, adorable, little Canadian brother' who had the uncanny ability of quickly changing in to 'hard-ass boss' when dealing with Alfred at work.

"Oh hey Mattie!" Alfred turned around slowly to face his brother while rubbing the back of his head and chuckling nervously.

"I uh...didn't see ya there!"

Obviously the wrong thing to say for his brother gave him a look not unlike one would give to one's enemy.

"Alfred. F. Jones. Did you get in another stupid argument with your cat? Is that why you're late?'

Oh shit. Full name. Alfred took a step back as he gulped.

"Well, uh, this isn't my fault! Blame Arthur! He's the one who keeps hiding from me!" He pointed an accusing finger at Arthur who was now snuggling

up closer to Matthew and smirking at Alfred. Well as close to a smirk as a cat can make at least.

In return, Alfred gave the cat the most scathing glare he could muster.

"Traitor." he muttered as he stormed off to the front. For the moment he had completely forgotten about Matthew and was now going to quietly sulk while trying to scare off customers. So far a great start to the day.

* * *

After about three hours all traces of an argument were gone as Alfred lazily stroked Arthur while the cat sat in his lap. Normally said cat wouldn't show such affection willingly (especially in public), but he figured he'd have to apologize to Alfred soon. The idiot was his caretaker after all and perhaps his only friend.

So after about an hour of being ignored and brushed off, Arthur had leapt in to Alfred's lap trying to get attention. Alfred, being the big softie he is, instantly forgave his furry friend, and now here they were in the same position almost two hours later.

Alfred continued to pet Arthur absentmindedly as he stared at the door. Someone had yet to come in and honestly he was a little frustrated. Did people forget how to read? Not that it was his favorite thing exactly, but even on a really bad day at least a few nerds would come walking in looking for an odd book on aliens, the history of fish living in South Africa, or something equally as weird.

Growling in frustration Alfred suddenly stood up, sending Arthur to the floor with an indignant yelp.

He looked down at his friend on the floor and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Huh...sorry there buddy. Forgot you were in my lap." He bent down to pick him up off the floor, but he paused when he heard the sound of bells tingling from the front of the store.

Completely forgetting about Arthur he hurried towards the front door, mustering up a friendly smile to greet the customer.

"Hello sir ! Need help finding any-" His greeting was stopped short as he stared at the customer who had just come in.

He was a little more than intimidating to say the least. The man stood well over a head taller than Alfred which really was saying something considering Alfred and Matthew were two of the tallest people in town. He wasn't just tall either, but bulky. Maybe it was the long and heavy beige coat the man was wearing or he long, pale pink scarf around his neck, but the man just seemed heavy. Adding to the intimidation was he fact that he didn't look fat, but instead very muscular. His eyes were piercing and a pale violet color that seemed almost unnatural. His hair seemed to have the same supernatural feel to it with how pale in shade it was. With all of this it seemed he couldn't get any creepier, but he managed to pull it off by twisting his face in to a large smile, though it seemed hardly happy. The smile just seemed to accentuate his scary demeanor by being so ironic.

The man's smile only grew wider as he registered the blond's flustered look. He coughed loudly, while still maintaining the smile, and stared deeply.

"Well hello there comrade."

Alfred froze at those words. That accent...this guy was Russian. Like 'fresh-from-Moscow' Russian.

Alfred swallowed the lump beginning to form in his throat and shakily a step towards the Russian.

"Did you need help with anything sir..."

"Ivan Braginski" The man replied.

Alfred corrected himself quickly, but distracted himself from the man for a second as he felt something rush behind one of his legs.

Twisting his head slightly around he looked towards the floor new his legs where he saw Arthur brushing up against his leg. The cat seemed to sense the scary mood as he was shivering slightly behind Alfred, trying his hardest to disappear behind him.

Alfred, feeling a sudden burst protectiveness, stepped in front of the cat so that the Russian couldn't see him and he was safely behind his owner.

Obviously the cat wasn't the best at hiding though because a few moments later the man crouched down on the floor and reached out to where Arthur was.

"Ahh you have a cat. You are so very lucky, da? To have a cat that is attached to you such as this one." He reached out further, attempting to catch Arthur, but failed when Alfred took another step to the right where the cat was safely hidden.

The man chuckled slowly and made his way back up to stand at his normal height.

"Ha. You are very protective of your cat, da?"

Alfred frowned slightly and shuffled uncomfortably. "Y-Yeah I guess you could say that." God did he just stutter? Alfred F. Jones had never once stuttered due to nervousness. That was a task best done by his shy brother, not him. This Russian guy was obviously getting to him.

The man smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes as he stared at Arthur. "What a waste," He said. "Why waste effort on such a stupid creature as that." His smile changed to a dark glare as his eyes drifted towards Alfred.

Alfred, sensing the dangerous turn this conversation had just made, took a step away from the Russian and tried to swallow his nervousness.

"Uh...so sir what is it that you wanted exactly?"

The man seemed confused as he pondered he question and a few seconds later he innocently shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

"This is embarrassing, da? I have forgotten what I have come in here for." Judging by the man's rather large smile, Alfred figured the man had not forgotten at all, which instantly made him tense up at the Russian's suspicious behavior.

The man ignore Alfred's discomfort as he reached forward and grasped his hand while shaking it vigorously.

"Well I must be on my way then. It was nice to meet you...Mr. Jones." And with that the intimidating man walked out the front door briskly and disappeared around the corner.

It took Alfred a moment to realize something was off, and he frowned as it dawned on him.

He had never told the man his name, much less his last name. He looked himself over quickly to see if there was anything on him that could give a clue to his name, but found nothing. No name tags or IDs bore his name. At least none that were visible.

In his haste to search his body he almost didn't the small ball of fur that ran through his legs. It wasn't until he heard the tell tale sound of bells ringing at the front door that he looked up and noticed exactly what was running out the door.

Arthur. His cat Arthur was currently running outside the bookstore's door and around the corner. He seemed to be desperately running after something because outside he window Alfred could see he cat gaining momentum as he raced between people's legs and avoided bicyclists riding by.

_WHAT? Cliff-hanger? Cheesy title? Russia is the villain? Never heard that one before! _

_I'm so cool. NOT. Haha I'm sorry for not updating my other story, but aren't you glad I'm starting another one? And oh look! It's USUK as well. Well get used to it. I'm going to write this pairing to death. I mean there will be some minor couplings, but yeah. I have too many ideas for this couple. Anyway it's kinda late and I have to write a report, so I should get going. _

_I'll be updating this maybe every week. Alter will be updated maybe Sunday of this week so…look forward to that! _

_Sophia out! _


	2. Chapter 2

_Sophia's back! Finally with an update of this story -_- I knew I shouldn't have been writing this, Alter, AND another story. I mean sheesh, I already had this written! I was just to lazy to edit it! Don't worry young ones! (Who you callin' young? You're 14!) (Shut up Me. You're 14 too.) I have not given up on this story! _

_Disclaimer: I own Hetalia about as much as I own your mother. I'm fairly sure I don't own your mother. _

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Taking a moment to stare in shock, Alfred then sprang in to action as he hurried through the door, yelling after the cat.

"Arthur! Arthuuuuuur come back!"

In his haste to leave, Alfred barely heard his brother's surprised cry of, "Where are you going!", as he rushed down the crowded city street.

This wasn't the first time Arthur had run away from Alfred. Sometimes the cat would find something interesting and he would run after it, leaving his owner in the dust. Alfred would chase after the cat sometimes for hours, until Arthur was no longer running after something, but instead running away from the blond as a game. They would continue the silly game until both were tired and Arthur would slow down, allowing Alfred to tiredly scoop him up in his arms and declare victory.

Something was different this time though, Alfred could feel it. Arthur was running faster than he ever had. His short legs pushing forward at an almost alarming speed. He didn't even spare a look back at the panic-stricken owner following.

This time Arthur was seriously chasing after something, probably the Russian, and this only made Alfred's pace quicken as his worry increased.

He headed around another corner when he was stopped in his tracks by his worst fear playing out before him.

Arthur had been running straight when he skidded to a stop in front of an uncovered manhole. Alfred held his breath as he was frozen in place in fear.

_Arthur...don't do it Arthur!_ He really hoped his cat could read his thoughts because for some reason Alfred had trouble using his voice to verbally warn Arthur. It was as if he talked then Arthur would jump straight in to the hole, gone forever. He figured if he kept still then eventually Arthur would run back to him and jump in to his waiting arms. Luck was not on Alfred's side.

Arthur backed up slightly and Alfred took a shaky breath of relief. Unfortunately, his heart sank in horror when he saw Arthur run straight for the manhole and hop down in to darkness.

"ARTHUR!" Alfred yelled and ran in a panic towards the hole. "Shit!" He cursed loudly as he bent over to peer inside. It was pitch black down there, but he could barely make out a small form laying in the muck at the bottom of the sewer.

"Arthur!" he called down to the cat below and sighed in relief when he saw a small flash of movement from the Arthur.

"Artie..." Alfred sighed as he ran a shaky hand through his now-messy hair.

"Hold on...I'll come get ya."

With that said, Alfred sat down on the lip of the opening to the hole and let his legs dangle down in to the darkness. It didn't look like a long drop, but he wasn't too excited about jumping down in to a sewer full of waste and vermin.

Holding in his breath and closing his eyes, he carefully lowered himself down while holding on to the edges of the hole.

He opened his eyes once again and scanned the dark, damp are around him.. Assured that Arthur was a safe distance away-as he didn't want to land on the poor thing-he slowly loosened his grip from above until he completely let go and dropped down to the ground below.

He noted a rather sickening wet sound from beneath him and groaned as some of the dirty water splashed on to the bottom of his pants and shoes. He was going to kill Arthur!-as soon as he got them both safely out of there.

Alfred spotted the tabby sitting across from him, and he noticed an almost horrified look pasted on to Arthur's face. Ignoring the look, Alfred took a step towards the tabby and held out his hand, calmy beckoning Arthur over.

The cat immediately tensed up and took a small step back towards another tunnel entrance. Alfred froze in confusion for a second and stared at his cat. "_Does he not want me to save him?", _he thought, but quickly judged that as preposterous and took another step forward.

This was again followed by a mirrored step backwards from Arthur and a low growl. Arthur looked up angrily at Alfred, but there was something else mixed in to his eyes. Fear was present as he stared at his larger friend.

Alfred saw the fear flicker in Arthur's eyes and he hesitated, taking a small step back. Swallowing thickly, he readjusted his glasses and looked at the cat.

"Arthur...What's going on? Why are you down here?"

He only got a cold stare in response. He sighed in defeat and bent down, ready to pick Arthur up, but he halted as he heard a soft, English accented voice in his head.

_"Alfred. Leave. Don't follow me. I can't have you hurt too."_

Alfred gasped at the voice and clutched the sides of his head in shock. He blinked twice and stumbled back in surprise, slipping on the wet surface beneath him and landing on his bottom. It took this moment where his owner was distracted for Arthur to run in the opposite direction of the tunnel, not looking back.

Alfred stood up to run after Arthur, when he felt a large hand slam down on his shoulder. He took a second to gather himself and focused on the hand. It was large and gloved with black leather. The grip on his shoulder was painful, and he could tell whoever's hand this was was big, and probably bigger than him.

He whipped around to look at the man behind him and gulped at the sight.

Standing behind him with a strong grip on his shoulder was the large Russian brute of a man he had met earlier, Ivan Braginski. He felt his blood run cold as the Russian smiled slowly and gave his shoulder a painful squeeze.

"Hello Alfred. I can't say it is a pleasure to see you again so soon. You should have listened when I said not to waste such effort on a stupid creature such a cat, da? Look where it has gotten you."

Alfred took a step back and attempted to wrench himself free of the man, but to no avail. Ivan simply pulled Alfred closer and growled darkly.

"Do not think you can get away from me Jones. I am not interested in chasing after you. Especially since it will end the same either way, da?"

At this point Alfred was struggling desperately to get away and threw a desperate punch at the Russian's nose. As he reached up to nurse his nose, he let Alfred out of his hold, allowing the American to spin around quickly and run towards the end of the tunnel.

Ivan cursed as Alfred ran away, but he recovered quickly and reached forward, wrapping his arms around Alfred's torso from behind. His move was successful as his victim was stopped mid-escape and started to squirm in his arms.

It didn't look like Ivan was doing much to Alfred, but Alfred could tell that the arms surrounding him were deadly, and he struggled to get out of them as he felt himself being lifted up.

"D-Dude. I don't know what you're talking about! Put me down! I won't tell the police about whatever the he'll you're doing, I swear! Just let me go!" Alfred yelled in desperation, but to no avail.

He kicked his legs desperately as he tried to reason with the larger man. The words seemed to have no effect on Ivan as effortlessly carried Alfred away while chuckling to himself.

"I will not worry about you telling the police Alfred, for you won't be getting out of here anytime soon."

And Ivan continued to chuckle as he felt Alfred squirm frantically and scream for help. No one would be able to hear him in here. He had made sure of that. Alfred would soon share the same fate as Arthur had a year before. As an experiment for Ivan; punishment for poking his nose where he didn't belong.

Alfred's struggles became weaker as he let Ivan's words sink in. While he looked at his grim future he hoped for one thing. He hoped beyond hope that Arthur would be ok after all of this. Even if he was missing an owner.

* * *

Arthur was running. Running desperately on his four short legs to find the man that had been making Arthur's life hell for years. The one man who had taken him away from normalcy and sent his life in to turmoil.

He started to run faster, fueled by anger, when he heard a small noise. He tried to ignore it (as he had more important things to deal with),but the noise only got louder, until Arthur could make out frantic yelling.

_"D-Dude. I don't know what you're talking about! Put me down! I won't tell the police about whatever the he'll you're doing, I swear! Just let me go!"_

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and his heart stopped. Everything slowed down around him as he heard the struggling from further in the tunnel. He could have recognized that obnoxiously loud American accent from anywhere.

Arthur started running back towards the opening of the sewer, desperately trying to get in time. Before Alfred ended up getting hurt by that Russian bastard.

"_I warned Alfred! I told him to leave and to not follow me. It figures he wouldn't listen to me,"_ Arthur thought as he continued running. He cursed and sped up as he heard another strangled sounding yelp from Alfred. This time it sounded closer.

Arthur rounded a corner and had to skid to a stop to prevent himself from running straight in to Ivan's legs.

Luckily neither of the two men noticed the cat, and he hurried back and around the corner to spy on the two.

Peeking his head around the corner he could barely control his anger at the scene before him.

Alfred looked like he was about to vomit as he tried to pull his assailant's arms off of him. Arthur could tell that his friend was beginning to panic and he had to restrain himself from running out and attacking Ivan. Alfred continued to struggle, but Ivan only tightened his grip on Alfred and grinned.

"You will not get away from me easily. We have far too much to do, da?"

Ivan continued to smile sickly, and it only made Arthur's blood boil. How dare he hurt Alfred. He had nothing to do with this and deserved none of it.

Arthur's mind wandered to Alfred as he saw the American beat uselessly against Ivan's arms.

_Alfred_. The stupid, annoying, loud American git of a man that had somehow found a way in to Arthur's normally closed-off heart.

* * *

Those first few weeks, Arthur had hated Alfred. He had hated how Alfred could be so carefree and joyful constantly. How he couldn't read the atmosphere and didn't want to. He hated how he was always doing something stupid and dragging Arthur in to it. Most of all he hated how Alfred was everything he wasn't, and it made him terribly jealous.

But somewhere along the line he had started to hate Alfred less and less. His jealousy melted away, and he started to enjoy Alfred's company. He liked to go along with Alfred on his stupid adventures and he began to think his obliviousness was rather endearing.

And suddenly Arthur had to come to terns with the fact that Alfred was his only friend, and probably the best he had ever had. Arthur was shocked by his own change of character, but he wasn't uncomfortable with it. He had been feeling lonely and the American seemed to be a godsend. Someone to distract Arthur from his misfortune.

Slowly, but surely, Arthur's feelings started to get even more complicated. He felt himself feeling flushed when Alfred pulled him in to bed with him after watching scary movies. More often than not he'd feel his heart skip a beat when his younger friend smiled that beautiful carefree grin. Now he found himself unable to be angry at the young man. He would 'fight' with Alfred constantly, but he would easily give in to the American's pout and puppy dog eyes. Their fight would soon be forgotten and Arthur would he happy to he back with his only friend...and perhaps love interest. Though that was rather wishful thinking.

Arthur smiled (the best a cat could) as he felt his cheeks heat slightly, but was brought out if his thoughts as he saw Ivan move towards the door, Alfred now haphazardly thrown over his shoulder.

Alfred was beating on Ivan's back so hard that Arthur could see the Russian struggle to walk in a straight line with the constant assault on his back. Arthur smiled at Alfred's fighting spirit and slowly took a step out from around the corner.

Alfred didn't notice Arthur immediately, so the cat took another tentative step out. The small movement caused Alfred to look up and in to the eye's of his loyal friend. Alfred's eyes widened as he stared at the cat, but then he sent a glare in Arthur's direction while moving his hands to shoo him away.

_Shit! Arthur, go away! If you get taken by this commie bastard too then I'll never live with myself! Alfred _took a moment to pause from trying to send messages to Arthur with his mind, to gulp and smile nervously.

"_IF I do make it out here alive_," He thought bitterly. Alfred quickly banished he thought and instead looked to Arthur who was standing closer now, and following behind Ivan.

Alfred continued to shoo Arthur silently until he heard a small voice speak out, this time not in his head. Alfred gasped as he was swung around by Ivan turning back suddenly. Ivan's gazed flashed downward to the ground, and he gave a cold glare at the small animal in front of him.

"Ah. Hello Arthur. I was wondering when you would come for your-" he paused for a moment, looking for the word. "Friend," he finished slowly, drawing out the last word.

All he got was an icy stare in return and low growl in response before Arthur's quiet voice rang out.

"Let Alfred go right now. He has nothing to do with this and furthermore-"

But Arthur was interrupted by a low hiss emitted from the Russian. Allowing himself a moment to calm down, Ivan switched back to his normal sickly-sweet tone.

"But don't you see? The American has everything to do with this! You care for him, do you not? And it is my job to take what you love away from you." He smiled down at Arthur before continuing. "It is your fault for poking in to my business, da?"

He gave one last smug smile in Arthur's direction as he adjusted Alfred on his back and turned away.

The moment he saw Alfred's panic stricken face, Arthur could contain his anger no longer. He ran forward in blind fury and latched on to the back of Ivan's pants, biting in to his leg.

Ivan let out a short gasp in surprise and almost dropped Alfred before regaining his senses. He shook his leg around rapidly until he saw Arthur lose his grip and fly off of his leg, slamming in to the wall behind him with a sharp intake of breath and a strangled moan.

At this, Alfred lost whatever sanity he had been holding on to and snapped. He started to yell and struggle desperately to get away, biting Ivan in the shoulder and grinning triumphantly as blood started to flow from the wound. Ivan screamed loudly in frustration and threw Alfred to the ground, forgetting him for the moment as he looked at his shoulder.

Alfred landed near Arthur, and he crawled on hands and knees the rest of the way, until he was crouched down right in front of him.

He was looking worse for wear as he was cringing with his body twisted painfully around. Alfred instantly calmed down, and reached out a hand to soothe the small cat. Stroking his soft fur, he took a shaky breathe and spoke; his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Arthur. It's gonna be ok. We're definitely going to get out of here and this Russian kidnapper is going to jail!" He reached out and attempted to lift Arthur off of the floor, but was startled as he heard the quiet voice from earlier speak. He slowly dropped his arms to his sides while gaping at his cat.

"Alfred. No time to explain, but you must do something for me or we'll both die!"

Confused for a moment he could only look down at Arthur with his mouth hanging wide open. The words didn't register and all he could think about was the fact that a cat was talking to him. Here Arthur was, speaking perfect English laced with a strong English accent. Alfred took in a breath and tried to calm down to no avail.

"Artie," He paused to swallow thickly after uttering the nickname, but attempted to keep his voice steady. "You're not a cat are you?"

He saw Arthur shake his head n the negative, and Alfred suddenly felt very dizzy. He slumped over slightly and pressed one palm against the wall while trying to calm himself. Arthur's face contorted in to a worried expression, but kept his distance. The matter at hand was far more urgent than Alfred's comfort level, and they didn't have time for him to warm up to the news. They had to get out, and soon. Ivan was beginning to creep closer; the blood from his bite mark had stopped flowing out a few moments earlier and was now just trickling out.

"Alfred listen to me. If you want us to get out of here you have to listen."

Arthur's voice sounded so strained and fretful you could practically taste his desperation. Alfred heard the distress in his voice and reluctantly set his eyes on Arthur.

_Arthur._ His loyal cat and friend that he spent most of the last year with. Alfred had spent countless hours with Arthur, confiding in him his deepest darkest secrets. Of course this was now quite embarrassing considering the entire time Arthur could obviously _understand_ Alfred.

Alfred groaned in embarrassment, but tried to focus on the matter at hand. Currently he had two options. One being an escape attempt, which would undoubtedly fail completely. The other being he actually listened to what Arthur had to say and possibly make it out alive. He didn't need a moment to even consider the first option.

Lifting his head he hesitantly nodded and gave the most reassuring smile he could muster at the moment.

Behind him it seems Ivan had stopped trying to capture the two and was instead watching them with interest, figuring they couldn't escape from him even if they tried. He was far enough away from the odd pair to where he couldn't hear what they were saying, but close enough for him to keep an eye on them.

Arthur nodded back at Alfred and started to explain his rather risky plan.

"Ok Alfred. I can't explain much, but the Ivan Braginski over there...he and I have known each other for a very long time. I can't say how long yet, but I can assure you it is much longer than you have been alive."

Surprised, but not completely shocked, Alfred simply nodded for Arthur to continue while the cat looked slightly taken aback by how calm the man was being. Honestly, Arthur had been expecting Alfred to scoff at his words, but he seemed to be taking the news quite well.

"Yes…well as you can see, I am a cat, though I wasn't always. I know this is a lot to handle Alfred, but please bear with me for now."

Arthur sucked in a breath hoping that Alfred was following along. All he got was a blank expression from he American, and he took this as a good sign.

"I can't explain why just yet, but you must understand that Ivan is a terrible man and will stop at nothing to get what he wants; which is currently me. Now he also has something that I want and I need to get it in order for us to get out of here."

Another pause before continuing with the plan, this time speaking faster.

"Alfred I need you to distract Ivan while I get this item. And to do that I need you to get in a fight with him. I would do it myself, but I'm obviously not able to right now. I only need you to knock him down for a long enough period to where I can quickly search him. Can you do that?"

Arthur looked up hopefully at Alfred who, at the moment, seemed to be pondering the situation thoughtfully. Hoping the boy wouldn't decide to just leave at that moment, Arthur looked down at the ground and tried to keep back his spreading worry. If he didn't have Alfred's full participation, not only would there be the possibility of staying a cat forever, but Ivan probably wouldn't let Arthur live long enough to find out.

Giving one last moment to think, Alfred stood up leisurely and flashed Arthur a reassuring grin with a thumbs up. Arthur looked up at him, confused, before Alfred rolled his eyes in fake annoyance.

"I thought you'd be smart Arthur, since you're already a talking cat and all. Of course I'll save you! Being a human…cat doesn't change the fact that you're my friend."

Ignoring the fast beating of his own heart, Arthur noticed something rather frightening lurking behind Alfred.

He gestured frantically towards Alfred, which only elicited a confused look from the boy and a sound of annoyance on his part. Throwing all caution to the wind, he shouted Alfred's name right before he saw the Russian lunge forward, delivering a painful blow to the back of Alfred's head with his fist.

Alfred stumbled backwards, his shoulder slamming in to the wall painfully, sending sharp shoots of pain up his arm. Across from him, a strangled meow could be heard as Arthur was pulled up roughly from the ground by his neck.

A look of pure hatred and almost _disgust _flashed when violet eyes landed on the cat. Ivan hated Arthur with a passion, and he was glad to finally be able to get rid of him.

Smiling with child-like glee, he started to twist Arthur's neck, getting ready to just snap it in half.

Enraged, Alfred ran forward and drew back his fist. Ivan didn't even have a second to prepare before a force near that of a train rammed in to his jaw and sent him reeling back.

The Russian fell back on the floor in shock and rubbed his swelling jaw-line. Blood started to trickle out of his mouth, but he just swiped it away carelessly with one large hand.

On the other end of the room, Alfred hastily ran forward and caught Arthur in the air. Checking to see that Ivan was still on the floor, Alfred gently set Arthur back on the ground, and went back towards Ivan to deliver the (hopefully) final blow.

Arthur scampered towards Ivan as fast as he could, and hopped on to his chest. Ivan's face twisted in to a scowl, and he tried to push off Arthur off of him, only to find that he couldn't.

Both of his arms were now being pressed in to the ground as Alfred kneeled over him, smirking and holding Ivan's muscular arms down. Ivan thrashed around, muttering Russian curses as he did, but Alfred held strong.

Arthur gave a troubled look at Ivan before nodding in Alfred's direction and carefully stepping away from Ivan's face.

Alfred was enjoying this a little too much. Truthfully, he didn't enjoy hurting people; it often left him with a dirty, disgusted feeling. But right now, there was nothing Alfred wanted nothing more than to feel the satisfying crunch of Ivan's bones breaking. He had the _nerve _to hurt Arthur right in front of him. Yes, Arthur might not be a real cat, but that didn't make him any less vulnerable, and Alfred felt compelled to protect him with all he had.

Taking one last moment to ensure that, _yes, this is what Arthur wanted_, Alfred reared back and withdrew one of the arms holding back Ivan, and let it crash forward in to Ivan's rather prominent nose.

Ivan let out a pained moan and let his head fall back limply in to the damp, hard bottom of the sewer.

Arthur worked quickly, roaming over Ivan's body with his eyes and checking for the small pendent he was searching for; the source of his magic.

Noticing the large, pink scarf warn by the Russian, Arthur scampered over to it, lifting up the heavy cloth with his teeth and tossing it over to the side.

Alfred glanced at Arthur with uncertainty as he saw the cat pause over Ivan's neck. He had no idea what Arthur was looking for, so he wasn't sure what was so important about Ivan's neck. It was like the rest of his body; a pale white, but covered with thin, faded scars. About to ask what the hell Arthur was looking at, Alfred's thoughts were interrupted by Arthur's soft voice.

"It's…it's still there. He kept it with him the entire time." Taking the utmost care, Arthur reached down and lifted up a small silver chain from Ivan's neck. Most of it hung out of Arthur's mouth, so Alfred could clearly see the beauty of the necklace.

The chain was simple and worn, but the jewel at the bottom was beautiful, and clearly a real emerald. It shone, even with just the small fraction of sunlight they were getting in the tunnel, as if it was creating its own light. Surrounding the green jewel were to silver bands that were languidly rotating around each other while Arthur shook them.

Alfred reached out a hand to touch it, but Arthur's eyes widened, and he quickly pulled it away from Alfred.

"Don't touch this! The amount of power in this is too much for your body to handle Alfred." Alfred normally wouldn't have believed that a small stone could have done some harm to him, but the look Arthur was giving him was so serious and worried, that Alfred _had _to believe him.

So, nodding slightly, Alfred instead reached over and pulled Arthur off of Ivan's passed out body and cradled him in his arms.

"Well now that you have your…thing…what's gonna happen? You're not going to leave…are you?" Alfred's voice filled with uncertainty as he glanced down at Arthur. After all this, he figured Arthur would have what he needed to be human again. While Alfred was happy for Arthur, he felt a bit bitter. Arthur was his best friend, cat or not, but it would be ridiculous for Arthur to live with Alfred after that. It's not like things could ever be the same because Arthur was definitely not Alfred's pet.

Shifting his focus to his friend, Arthur frowned. He hadn't thought much about what would happen after he found his magic. He desperately wanted to be human, but if he did, would he ever see Alfred again?

About to respond, Arthur opened his moth, but hurriedly shut it when he noticed the light from his pendant glowing a brighter green. Cursing loudly, he shook it in an attempt to stop the growing light, but the jewel continued to shine brighter.

Alfred looked horribly confused, but Arthur didn't have any time to explain when suddenly the area around them was bathed in a harsh, green light.

The last thing Alfred saw was Arthur's apologetic expression before the light around him faded to black, and he fell back in to the cold, dirty water surrounding him.

* * *

_Honestly? I'm scaring myself with my predictability. A BLACK OUT CLIFF HANGER? Best you could come up with Sophia? Yeah, yeah. Hate me. We all do. _

_On a lighter note…I don't hate Russia. Honestly, he's a pretty likable character. But a big, bad Russian bad guy? Too awesome to resist. I didn't have to make him an animal abuser though…that might have gone a little too far. Yeah, well anyway, look forward to another installment of this. _

_Ya know…if you want to! :D _


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